Method of forming a retaining surface on a smoking device



F. KlPNlS Dec. 29, 1970 METHOD OF FORMING A RETAINING SURFACE ON A SMOKING DEVICE PERMIT'MASS To Cu 2?:

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ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice Patented Dec. 29, 1970 3,551,534 METHOD OF FORMING A RETAINING SURFACE ON A SMOKING DEVICE Frank Kipnis, 118 Chadwick Drive, Charleston, SC. 29407 Filed Apr. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 724,136

Int. Cl. A24f 7/00 US. Cl. 264-16 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The method of applying a self-curing mass of resinous material to the mouthpiece of a pipe, placing the mouthpiece in the individuals mouth in the normal pipe smoking position, bringing the teeth of an individual into biting engagement with the mass, and maintaining this biting engagement until the mass hardens to form a permanent dental impression which serves as a retaining surface of the mouthpiece.

This invention relates to smoking devices and more particularly to a method of providing a retaining surface on the mouthpiece of a pipe.

The popularity of the pipe for smoking tobacco 1s widespread and, in one of its most popular forms, the pipe is of a type which is provided with a bowl and a mouthpiece which is clamped between the teeth of the smoker for inhalation of the smoke from tobacco burning within the bowl. It is well known that the weight of the typical pipe as well as its usual length from the mouthpiece to the bowl, where the Weight is concentrated, require that the pipe mouthpiece be clamped tightly within the teeth of the smoker to prevent the pipe from being inadvertently dropped and even to maintain the pipe in the normal smoking position. As the mouthpiece of such a pipe is generally formed from a hard, smooth, Wear resistant material such as wood, plastic or the like, a substantial force must be exerted by the teeth to insure that the pipe is maintained in the desired smoking position. This not only imposes considerable strain on the smokers teeth and gums as well as producing a source of irritation to the lips but imposes a severe burden on denture wearers. Furthermore, pipe smokers frequently direct their attention to other matters while smoking and the natural tendency of the jaw to become slack when a conscious effort is not being made to retain the teeth in clamping engagement with the pipe mouthpiece adds to the tendency of the pipe to slip out of the smoking position or from the mouth.

'It has been proposed to provide the mouthpiece of such pipes with some type of retaining means for cooperating with the smokers teeth to aid in retaining the pipe in the smokers mouth, but in general, such features are expensive adding considerably to the cost of the pipe. In addition, such retaining features are frequently uncomfortable thereby reducing the pleasure to be obtained from pipe smoking. It has also been proposed to form indentations such as a dental impression in such pipe mouthpieces for receiving the smokers teeth thereby providing an interlocking relationship between the mouthpiece and the smokers teeth in the clamped position.

It can be readily understood that there is an infinite variety of pipe smoking positions among pipe smokers as, in addition to the variation in teeth spacing and configuration, each individual selects the most comfortable position in the mouth for clamping the pipe mouthpiece with the teeth. Thus, to provide a standard mouthpiece impression to fit all smokers widespread mismatching would occur accompanied by failure to solve the pipe retaining problem and, in some cases, even making the problem worse. The obvious solution for obtaining dental impressions on a mouthpiece has been to provide a mouthpiece formed entirely of suitable plastic material which will take an impression of the smokers teeth in the normal pipe smoking position. After the impression is formed in the mouthpiece, the material is appropriately cured or hardened by well known process such as baking, chemical treatment or the like to permanently form the mouthpiece with the individuals dental impression. It is easy to see that to provide such a mouthpiece would add considerably to the cost of the pipe, a typically lowcost item. In addition, the curing process is not only expensive but cannot be readily accomplished by the typical pipe smoker since it requires the exercise of skill and the provision of facilities not generally available to the typical pipe smoker. The majority of pipes commercially available today are inexpensive and expendable items and while the advantages of such a dental impression are generally preferred, the sales of such pipes would encounter considerable customer resistance from the added cost of present day practices for providing such a mouthpiece on the pipes.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a new and novel method of forming a retaining surface on the mouthpiece of the pipe.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel method of custom forming the dental impression of an individual smoker on a pipe of conventional construction in a simple and easy manner.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method of providing a dental impression of the smokers teeth on the mouthpiece of a pipe which permits the pipe to be clamped and held in the smokers mouth in the normal smoking position with a minimum of effort and which virtually eliminates the need for a conscious effort on the smokers part for retaining the pipe in the smoking position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of forming a dental impression on a pipe which conforms to the configuration of an individuals teeth in the normal pipe smoking position, which utilizes readily available, inexpensive material, which may be formed with a minimum of skill and which blends generally with the overall configuration of the pipe to present a pleasing and attractive outer appearance.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In general, the objects of the invention and other related objects are accomplished by providing a pipe of conventional construction having a mouthpiece. A selfcuring mass of impression material is also provided and the mass is applied in a softened state to that portion of the outer surface of the mouthpiece which is engaged by the smokers teeth in the normal smoking position. The smokers teeth are moved into biting engagement with the soft mass and retained in the biting engagement until the mass hardens to form a dental impression in the mass for receiving and retaining the smokers teeth in the pipe smoking position during subsequent use of the pipe.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the steps of the novel method of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece of a pipe of conventional construction;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing one step of the novel method of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another step of the novel method of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pipe of conventional construction which has been modified in accordance with the novel method of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing and to FIG. 5 in particular, there is shown a pipe P of conventional construction which has been processed in accordance with the novel method of the invention. As is well known, the pipe P includes a bowl 11 having an interior 12 for receiving and burning particulate tobacco material and a stem 13 preferably integrally formed with the bowl 11. The pipe P also includes a bit or mouthpiece 14 which is removably attached to the stem 13 by conventional means such as a pin 16 receivable in snug fitting relationship with a suitable recess (not shown) in the pipe stem 13. In the assembled relationship, the mouthpiece .14 extends outwardly from the stem 13 in tapering relationship therewith and terminates at its outer end in a tip 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mouthpiece 14 is provided with a central passage 18 which communicates with a central passage in the stem 13 to permit smoke from the tobacco burning in the bowl interior 12 to be drawn by the smoker through the stem and mouthpiece passages and out of the end 17a of the mouthpiece passage 17 when the mouthpiece 14 is inserted in the smokers mouth with the smokers teeth in clamped or biting relationship with the end portion of the mouthpiece in the normal smoking position.

It should be understood that although the novel method of this invention is directly specifically to the mouthpiece of a smoking device such as a pipe, it can be readily understood that the novel method is also applicable to other types of smoking devices held in a smokers mouth such as cigar and cigarette holders. As is well known, such holders are similar in shape to the pipe mouthpiece 14 and such holders, as well as pipe mouthpieces, which are commercially produced today are generally formed of the same material such as a hard plastic which is chemically inert to fluids in the mouth and tobacco smoke and which is capable of withstanding repeated biting by the smoker during use.

As specifically illustrative of the invention, a self-hardening mass of resinous material is provided which is of a type commercially available today in many forms. For instance, one type of self-hardening or self-curing material commercially available today is in the form of a powderlike acrylic resin and a liquid catalyst sold under the trademark Formatray and manufactured by Kerr Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich.

A softened mass of this resinous material is obtained by mixing this acrylic resin and catalyst together and this step in the novel method of invention is illustrated by the first block in the diagram of FIG. 1. Alternately, a thermoplastic resinous material may be used which, when heated, becomes soft and malleable and which upon returning to room temperature hardens into a permanent form. In other words, any suitable resinous material may be employed in accomplishing the novel method of this invention, the prime requirement of such material being that it is initially available or may be prepared in a softened state or mass for taking an impression and then hardens quickly without further treatment to permanently retain the impression formed in the mass.

In the next step of the method of the invention as shown in the second square of FIG. 1, the soft resinous mass is applied to the outer surface of that portion of the mouthpiece 14 which is clamped between the smokers teeth in the normal smoking position. In the illustrated embodiment, the application of the mass to the mouthpiece 14 is accomplished by molding the mass M manually as shown in FIG. 3 throughout the outer surface of portion of the mouthpiece 14 adjacent the mouthpiece tip 17.

In the next step of the invention, as illustrated by the third square in the diagram of FIG. 1, the mouthpiece 14 is positioned in the mouth S of the smoker between the smokers teeth T in the normal pipe smoking position and the teeth T moved together by the smoker in biting engagement with the mass M as shown in FIG. 4. This biting by the smoker of the mass M thus corresponds to the biting engagement made by the smoker with the pipe mouthpiece 14 but with the softened mass M applied to the mouthpiece, indentations or dental impressions 21 are formed by the teeth T in the mass M as shown in FIG. 5.

The smokers teeth T are held in this biting engagement with the mass M for a period of time which is sutficient to permit the mass to cure or harden so that after the mouthpiece is removed from the smokers mouth and the teeth withdrawn from the mass, the impressions 21 remain in the mass in a permanently set form to receive the teeth of the smoker during each subsequent use of the pipe thereby aiding the smoker in retaining the pipe in the normal smoking position by a locking engagement between the teeth T and the dental impressions 21.

This curing or hardening step during which the teeth T are maintained in the biting engagement of FIG. 4 is illustrated by the fourth square in FIG. 1 and since the resinous material is of the type which cures or hardens rapidly, only a relatively short period of time is required for hardening of the mass M to complete the formation of the permanent dentiform impression of the smokers teeth in the mass. Since the manual application of the resinous material or mass M to the mouthpiece 14 may leave a slightly irregular surface and as some irregularities may be produced during the formation of the impressions 21, the hard mass M is preferably smoothed into the desired shape on these irregularities removed by suitable abrading means such as a rough file, sandpaper, emery cloth or the like. Thus the mass M may be contoured to conform generally to the overall shape of the mouthpiece 14 thereby presenting a pleasing and attractive outer appearance to the pipe P. In addition, this outward appearance may be enhanced by suitably pigmenting the resinous material of the mass M to provide a color conforming generally to the color of the pipe P.

The resinous material referred to above marketed under the trademark Formatray gives excellent results when used with the novel method of the invention but it should be understood that other self-hardening resinous materials having substantially the same properties may be used in the practice of the invention. Such desirable properties include not only chemical and physical properties which make the material compatible with the tissues of the mouth, that is, nontoxic, nonirritating, nonadhesive, tasteless, odorless, etc. But also include durability and wear resistance as well as being capable of produCing a sharp dentiform impression. It can be understood that this hardened resinous material applied to the pipe mouthpiece should have substantially the same physical and chemical properties as that of the mouthpiece itself such as hardness, resistance to deterioration such as might result from the biting action of the smokers teeth, mouth acids, etc., all of which properties appear to be inherent in the Formatray composition.

It can be seen that with the novel method of the invention, a smoker can now provide, at a minimum of cost and with the exercise of relatively little skill, a surface on the mouthpiece of a smoking device such as a pipe, cigar or cigarette holder or the like which greatly facilitates the retention of the mouthpiece in the smokers mouth and which insures that the mouthpiece is maintained in the normal smoking position of the individual smoker. The method of the invention incorporates the use of inexpensive, readily available impression material which may be obtained in the form of various constituents for ready mixing or in a form by means of which the material may be provided in a softened state. The soft resinous material may be applied manually to any such type of mouthpiece and suitably molded with the fingers to subsequently take a dentiform impression conforming precisely to the individual smokers teeth. An outstanding feature of the invention is the elimination of any need for subsequent hardening or curing treatment for the resinous material after the dentiform impression is formed.

The elimination of this subsequent treatment is accomplished by the provision of a self-hardening or self-curing material which not only takes a sharp impression but which hardens quickly to provide a permanent impression without further processing. Another outstanding feature of the invention is its versatility wherein the mouthpiece of any smoking device may be processed in accordance with the invention to provide a precise fit for the smokers mouth thereby providing a maximum amount of comfort and pleasure to the pipe smoker as well as relieving strain on the teeth and gums and eliminating irritation to the smokers lips.

While there has been described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and therefore, it is the aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a retaining surface on a pipe having a mouthpiece comprising the steps of, providing a pipe having a substantially nondeformable mouthpiece, providing a self-curing mass of resinous acrylic material,

applying said mass in a softened condition to the outer surface of the portion of said mouthpiece engagable by the teeth of an individual in the individuals normal pipe smoking position, positioning said mouthpiece in said individuals oral cavity in said normal pipe smoking position, moving the teeth of said individual into biting engagement with said softened mass on said mouthpiece, maintaining said teeth in said biting engagement with said mass until said mass has hardened to produce a dentiform impression in said mass, removing said mouthpiece from said oral cavity to provide a pipe having a surface on said mouthpiece for retaining engagement with said individuals teeth in said pipe smoking position.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 including the 0 step of removing a portion of said hardened mass to provide a smooth, contoured surface on said mass.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 including the step of mixing an acrylic resinous material and a catalyst to provide said self-curing mass of resinous material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,583,956 5/1926 Burgess 131-229 2,330,516 9/1943 Plain 131229 2,696,214 12/1954 Swenson 131229 2,949,638 8/1960 Butler 264-222 3,440,314 4/1969 Frisch 264222 JULIUS FROME, Primary Examiner A. H. KOECKERT, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

